Through nearly two weeks of training camp practices, Indianapolis Colts’ offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter has been impressed with rookie running back DJ Giddens, specifically his ability to adapt and adjust to the new responsibilities being thrown at him.

“DJ’s done a really nice job,” Cooter said after Saturday’s practice. “He’s a young guy, who’s been put in some different roles maybe than he was in college. Just in the NFL, you’re running the ball, but maybe you’re running it from different sides and behind the quarterback. You’re running these routes that maybe you never ran in college. You’re working different blitz pickup schemes.

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“Oftentimes a young running back has a lot on his plate learning that. It is different than college, but DJ’s done a really nice job of picking up the offense, picking up his role and then going out and executing it.”

Giddens joins the Colts after two very productive seasons at Kansas State. In 2024 specifically, he averaged a whopping 6.5 yards per rush while ranking sixth in average yards after contact and 20th in missed tackles forced, per PFF.

After the NFL draft, GM Chris Ballard mentioned Gidden’s contact balance, which made him difficult to bring down and resulted in a number of explosive runs. Giddens would finish last season ranked 15th in rushes of 10-plus yards among all backs.

Giddens also potentially brings a pass-catching element to the Colts’ backfield–something that was missing in 2024. He was targeted 72 times over his final two seasons and averaged nearly 13.0 yards per catch in 2024.

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However, if the running back is going to be on the field during passing situations, they also have to be able to hold their own in pass protection, and the component often comes with a learning curve for most rookies.

We know that Jonathan Taylor will shoulder the workload at running back, but the backup role behind him is up for grabs. Giddens is competing with Khalil Herbert and Tyler Goodson for those snaps.

“Oftentimes, he has had a knack in this camp of sort of finding that crease, reading that defense the right way, and working with his offensive line to create yards,” Cooter added. “So we’re real encouraged with DJ. I’m excited to watch him continue to try different roles, and different routes, and different run schemes within this offense to see what he’s comfortable with and where he goes from here.”

This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: Colts training camp: Jim Bob Cooter weighs in on play of DJ Giddens